OK, thanks everybody. The FF miles are actually through Delta, and on the return we are flying a combination of KLM and Delta (although I think KLM and Air France have merged?)

My real incentive is minimizing the connections: train from airport in Rome to Termini, train to Naples, then train to Sorrento: 3 connections, versus 1 connection: bus from Naples airport to Sorrento (and trying to do this in a jet lagged haze).

I think with all the new airline safety regs, they have to match up bags/passengers, but not sure if that really applies in Europe.

There's 4 of us traveling, so the change fees really add up. We tried calling Delta and asking nicely, since they've themselves changed around our flight times from our original times, but no go.

I guess the best I can hope for now is that the NY to Paris flight gets delayed, and then ask very nicely for a flight to Naples.

Thanks for the all the advice!

It is not going to happen, because there are more flights from CDG-FCO than CDG-NAP. If you miss your flight, they'll put your on the next CDG-FCO.

So, just stop this idea/plan/dream or whatever right now. Not going to work.

And it's crazy to hope for your flight to Paris to be delayed. Would you know how long the line may be at the AF counter to rebook your flight? Would you know if they'll re-tag your bags correctly? Would you know how many hours you have to endure to get on the next flight to Italy?

Last thing you want to happen is your NY-Paris flight gets delayed.

Plan and deal with the FCO-Sorrento transfer now. BTW, I believe there's a direct bus for that route, though not very frequent. Instead of taking three trains.

And even IF they would consider it - They won't go dig through the luggage to find yours and re-tag it for Naples.

Just relax and forget about "asking nicely" - you are going to Rome . . . .

Sorry, no bus direct from FCO to Sorrento. With 4 people, you may want to check out a price for a shuttle van.

I agree that they are going to fly you into Rome because they have more flights there, even if you did miss the connection. Also, the baggage problem -- they won't fly you somewhere with your baggage flying somewhere else. I think monica wasn't afraid this would happen, she was trying to miss the flight intentionally to get a flight to Naples instead of Rome. That's why the accidentally was in quotes. Trying to fool around with airlines and missing flights to trick them is a bad idea.

I am surprised that Delta won't let you change reservations, unless there are no other FF seats available. I used NW FF miles to go to Amsterdam a few years ago. I changed my return date two times (after getting to Holland) by calling NW in Minneapolis. No penalty, no charge. When I finally decided to come home I went to the airport and was told by KLM check-in that my flight left the day before! They put me on the plane anyway. No penalty, no charge.

Sigh, I think you're probably right. No incentive for AF to book me to Naples. I've contacted Francesco and requested rates for a ride to Sorrento from the Rome airport.
Any websites for any other shuttles or rides to Sorrento?

Nobody knows the answer to your question <i>How likely would Air France be willing to put us on the Paris to Naples flight if we miss our original connection to Rome?</i>

But if you behave like wimpers in CDG it is possible that you will get the sympathy you need. You may even be bumped to business class.

Yikes, looked up Tour Of Italy, and transfer from Rome to Sorrento is 300 euros (and hopefully, that's not per person). I think the train option adds up to about half that (for the 4 of us)

I'm sorry I have no creative solution, but as others hopefully have convinced you monkeying with the airlines is NOT a good idea. You could end up 4 people in a very stressed out situation. When you have tickets to Rome, you're not going to be flown to Naples.

Leonardo Express + Alto Velocita to Naples is 44&euro;. Circumvesuviana to Sorrento is 3.2&euro;, I think.

300&euro; for 4 people is about a 50% premium. Only you can decide.

I will admit that the car service was a little bit of a luxury for us. But; having someone meet us at the airport, not having to worry about keeping an eye on our luggage, not having to worry about a train strike (that happened 1 week later), and having the option of taking a nap while someone else drove, was priceless.

You don't want to miss your flight, of course, I wouldn't be checking luggage anyway, so that point is a non-issue. The way airlines over-book flights now it may be two or three flights before you make it to Rome. Only one time have I be re-routed to a differing location at my request, &amp; it literally took me all day to get from JFK to CLT. We left @ 6am &amp; I got home @ 10pm, I could have driven faster. In that case I returned straight to CLT rather than Greensboro, where my flight had originated.

OK, thanks everyone. I checked with Delta yesterday, and there are absolutely no seats available, FF or otherwise, on the Paris to Naples flight, either on AF or Alitalia.

I looked into hiring a private driver, but the rates seemed really high. Then I had inspiration. I have my own private driver already, DH.

I called up Auto Europe, and they were able to get us a rental car for a 3 day (72 hour)period, picking up at Rome Airport and dropping off at Rome downtown, for a total of $207 (this actually covers 4 days for us). Our hotel in Sorrento, Il Nido, has free parking, so hopefully this will all work out. DH is a pretty good driver, so I'm confident about his driving. I know the road to and back from Sorrento gets crowded, but at least on the way back to Rome, we're traveling on a Sunday morning, which should be traffic lite?

So thanks again everyone, will now be on hyperalert at CDG to NOT miss our connection.

you are flying overnight SD &gt; NY &gt; CDG &gt; Rome -- and then driving??

I agree with BigBlueMarble, I think it is close to impossible that your group can clear French customs, take the CDG bus from the international terminal to the intra-Europe terminal and make your scheduled flight to Rome in one hour, even if your flight to CDG is on time. So that means you will almost surely have a (agonizing) delay at CDG. Even if you do make the connection, you will all (including your driver, DH) be wiped out by the time you arrive in Rome. I don't think it will be safe to drive from Rome to Sorento in that state of exhaustion. I'd either reserve a room in Rome for the arrival night or hire a driver to take you to Sorrento.

It's not impossible to make the connection. I had a 65 minutes for my connection 1.5 years ago to IAH-CDG-FCO on Air France and I made it. That includes waiting over 20 minutes in line to clear immigration.

I don't know what's the situation is right now with the new S3 satellite, where most AF US arrivals use. You probably still need to clear immigration at the main 2E terminal. After that, just walk to 2F for the Rome flight. Don't use the shuttle bus.

Rome to Sorrento isn't THAT far a drive. I don't think it's that crazy to drive.

I didn't mean the distance was too far - but that after about 17-20 hours in transit overnight and probably 30 hours awake, driving anywhere is pretty risky

<b>hopscotch</b>,

you are confusing 2 different issues. Most award tickets allow DATES change for free, not destination changes.

and

we do know the answers or haven't you read the replies?

No amount of whimpering will get the OP to Naples when her final destination is Rome. PERIOD!